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Indian @Rio Olympics 2016: Mairaj Ahmed Khan

Mairaj Ahmed Khan will be representing India at Rio Olympics 2016 in the Shotgun Skeet Event, having ensured his qualification at the Lonato Shotgun Championships in Italy in September 2015. The 40-year-old became the first Indian to qualify for the Shotgun Skeet event in the history of the Games.

Mairaj Ahmed Khan was born to a Muslim Sunni family of landlords on 2 November, 1975 in Khurja, Uttar Pradesh.

As a 10-year-old, he had finished third in a U-12 50-metre rifle competition, and bought a cricket bat with the resulting Rs 30 prize money he won.

His father was a state level trap shooter but did not turn professional as he had to look after the family business.

Khan used to play cricket in his youth and has played with Virender Sehwag for Jamia University. He was also a part of the U-19 Uttar Pradesh team in the C.K. Naidu Trophy back in the 1990’s.

He won a silver event in the SK125 event at the ISSF World Cup in April, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, which is also the host city for the 2016 edition of Olympics.

He is the first Indian to represent India in the Shotgun Skeet event at the Olympics Games.

He turned professional at the age of 24, and has won the National Championship three times.

He won a gold medal in the team skeet event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games which was held in Delhi.

He also won a team gold medal in the 2011 Asian Shotgun Championship.

His autobiography, titled ‘Hard Target’ is going to be published soon which will talk about his journey of more than 15 years as a skeet shooter which earned him multiple accolades across the world.

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